Having been my favourite band for a number of years now and indeed being the band that ultimately got me interested in heavy metal, the performance by Dave & Co was always going to be the highlight of the weekend for me. Having previously seen them play two sell out shows at the London Astoria in February I knew exactly what to expect and boy were those expectations met!

Before I start discussing the band’s performance I’d just like to point out how ridiculous it was having a band of this stature playing below acts such as Dinosaur Jr. (Has anyone even heard of these guys ?!?!?), Garbage and Feeder. I obviously wasn’t alone in having this sentiment as it was with great delight that I noticed Megadeth had by far the biggest audience on the Friday drawing in a massive 80,000 fans to watch them in comparison to the rather pitiful amounts that stuck around to see the ‘headline’ acts. Hopefully this will encourage CC Live to realise that having an indie day at a so called metal festival really wasn’t the best idea in the world.

‘Deth came onto stage with all guns blazing for opening number ‘Blackmail The Universe’ to a rapturous response from a crowd who for many this would be the only highlight of the day. The sound was great for the most with my only complaint being that for a few numbers (most noticeably ‘Skin Of My Teeth’) Glen’s guitar seemed to be a bit low in the mix.

The setlist contained few surprises for myself although it was a shame that having been put in for an afternoon slot, quite a few of the so called ‘classics’ i.e. ‘Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?’ were omitted. You know when you’ve just witnessed a great show when it seems that the band have finished after they have barely started which was definitely the case with Megadeth. It all went by far too quickly!

It was nice to see that Megadeth were one of the bands who obviously wanted to be there deep down and they were all grinning from ear to ear as they departed the stage after a farewell bow to the audience. For anyone that hasn’t seen them before I wholeheartedly suggest you check them out on their return to the UK (which despite the fact Download was meant to be their last UK show, Dave announced on stage that they would return)

To see our Official Photos of MEGADETH at the Download Festival please click HERE - or visit our full Photography section HERE.

Setlist:
Blackmail the Universe
Set the World Afire
Skin 'O My Teeth
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
She-Wolf
Die Dead Enough
Trust
Symphony of Destruction
Holy Wars

Overall Score:   9 /10